Window cleaning device



July 22, 1952 v D. MQ GALLAGHER v 2,603,811 v v WINDOWl CLEANING DEVICE Filed June 9, 1949 iiiil n 'lll/111111111117110!!! INVENTOR.v 04u/o M feu/mus? #fraz/vers Patented July 22, 1952 Application Julie 9, 1949, seria1NQ.-9s,115 comme. (au15-25o) 'v "The present invention relates'to window cleaning devices, and has special reference to-'a device for use in cleaning windows of the'slidingupper and lower sash type. f l Y One of the objects of the invention is to pro-y vide a device of this character which 'is ofsimple and inexpensive construction, and-convenient in use ,y e.

. Another of ltheobjects of the invention is to provide a window cleaning device having-a cleaning pad which is adapted to be easily inserted between theupper portion of the lower sash and the lower portion of the upper sash and against the pane of the lower sash, and held in positionby being clamped to the lower rail of the upper sash, whereby cleaning of Vthe outer side of :the pane of the lower sash may be 'easilyaccomplished by raising and lowering the vlower sash.

The several features of the invention, whereby these and other objects may be attained, will be readily understood from the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure llis a side view of my improved device shown applied to a window of the sliding upper and. lower sash type, portions ofthe upper and lower sashes being shown in section; Fig. 2 is a rear View of the device on an enlarged scale; v n

Fig. 3 .is--asectional elevation taken `on the line Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken onvthe line 4-4 of Fig.'2; and

` Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view, taken von the line 5-5rof Fig. 2. l

v The device as illustrated in thegdrawings, comprises a cleaning pad holder 2 which -as shown is in the forniA of va rectangular plate. A cleaning pad 4 which may be made of any suitable material, such-as cloth,rsponge,-or. brush, may be, v

detachably secured to the front side of the holder in any suitable manner such as by` folding the upper and lower edges of the pad over the edges of the holder, and securing them as by eyelets 5 on the folded edges that are held by clips 8 on the holder. Y v l On the rear side of the holder is secured a stationary clamping member I0 which has a horizontal projecting flange I2, the portionv of the member Ill beneath said flange being inclined downwardly and inwardly. The device is further provided with movable clamping membersy I4 which, as shown, are formed on the lower ends of rods I6, said members being bent at right angles to the rods. The rods I6 are mounted to slide vertically through apertures in guide-plates I8 secured by screws 20 to the'funder'side-ofithe clamping `memberA l0. Each of the-frods I6 has' a twisted portion 22 and the aperture inassociated guide 'plate I8 through which the rodl extends is suitably shaped so that during the downward movement of the rods'the rods arev turned ina counter-clockwise direction (viewing Fig. 2) so as to turn the clamping members I4 toward the rear side of the padv holder as shown by dotted lines. During the upward movement ofthe krods I3, they are turnedk in the opposite direction to position. .their clamping` vmember `I4 substantially at right angles `to thel back of :the holder with their endsrdirectly beneath .the clamping The upper ends of the clamping rods- IB are mounted for turning movementin apertures in a cross-head or bar 24 and are caused to move vertically. withr the cross-bar by means of collars 26 secured to the rods adjacent the upper and lower sides of the bar. The bar 24 is guided duringits vertical movements by means of rods or pins 28 having their upper ends secured thereto and their lower ends. extending through apertures inthe guide plates I8.l The cross-head 24 ispressed upwardly by'means of coiled springs S-dinterposed between the top A'side of the clamping member I0 and the'cross-head( Y Y The ends-of the cross-head 24 are secured to the-ends of a U-shaped frame lmemberg332. .To the center -of the upper -side Yof thev 'clamping member IB there is secured, by-means of -a screw 34, the lower end of anupright-frame member '36. The upper portion ofthe frame member extends through a guideway formed between'the'side of the U-shaped frame member-32 and alstrap 38 a clamping lever M, whereby upon swingingl the lever M downwardly as indicated'by 'the'arrow shown in Fig. 2, the upright memberBB Ais clamped to' the U-shaped member 32 :so :as'to hold-the upright member from upward movement against the` tension of the springs 3G. A'lever'lIB is pivot'- ally mounted atA 48 on the upright member 36, and has its lower end engaging the top side of the cross-head 24. t

With this construction, to apply the.device to the window, as shown in Fig. 1, the clamping lever 44 isturnedto its released position as shown in Fig. 2, and then the lever 46 is turned in a counterclockwise direction so as to .cause its lower end by engagement with the cross-bar 24 to force the bar downwardly against the tension of the springs 3U until the lever has been turned into vertical position, whereupon the bar is held thereby by the lever. Also, the bar 24 may be further locked in depressed position by means of the eccentric lever 44. During such downward movement of the bar 24, the clamping members I4 are moved downwardly with the bar and are retracted `as Ak above described and as shown by dotted lines inFig. 2.A f Y f l With the'device thus'set, it is ready to be ap'- plied to the window illustrated in Fig. 1.

This window has upper and lower sashes, the upper -fengaging the outer side of the pane of the lower sash comprising a lower rail 50 and-a. window f' pan-e 52, and the lower sash having an upper rail 54 and a window pane 55. device, the lower sash of the window may be raised to substantially the position shown in Fig.

l, and the device inserted between the upper-` portion of the lower sash and the lower portion of the upper sash, so as to position the cleaning pad14 vagainst the -pane of the lower sash'with the clamping iiange I2 engaging thetop side of the 'lower rail ofthe upper sash, theV portion'of the clamping member I 0 below the ange I2 substantially fitting theinner side of said lower rail. As the clamping'members I4 are-in their said retracted position duringsuch insertion of the device, they `are free to clear the `lower rail. When the device is thus positioned, the cam lever 44 is turned to release the U`shaped frame member 32 and the lever 46 -is turned in a clockwise direction so as to release its lowerend from holdingengagement with the cross-head bar 24, whereupon the springs 30 forcefully move the bar 24 upwardly, thus causing the clamping members I4 .to be raised and turned so as to engage the'underside of the lower rail of the upper Sash, and thus cooperate with the clamping flange I2 to rmly clamp the device to the lower rail 50. When the device is thus clamped to the rail 50 it. may be positively held in position byV means of the eccentric lever 44. Y

With the' device thus applied, the cleaning of the'outer side of thepane of the lower sash may loe-easily accomplished 'by raising and lowering, one or more times, the lower sash so as to cause theV window pane to rub against the cleaning pad 4. When a portion of the pane has been thus cleaned the width of the pad, the device may be easilyshifted laterally toclean the remaining portions of the outer side of the lower pane.

At' theAV completion of the cleaning, the device maybe easily removed from the window upon releasing the cam lever 44, and again turning the lever 46 in a counter-clockwise direction so as to depress the cross-head bar 24, and thus move the clamping members I4 in'to their retracted Vpositi'o'ns', thusV releasing the device from theupper sash'and permitting said mem'bers to clear the lower'frailr of the sash as the device is being lifted from between the window sashes.

YIt will be apparent that my improved device 4 may be easily and quickly applied to clean the outer'side of the pane of the lower sash, which is the'fmost4 difficult part of the window to reach from the inside of a building. When the window is open, the outside of the upper pane can be easily cleaned with ordinary brushes or cleaners, but the outside of the lower pane is out of reach.

The device is substantially foolproof, and the conned space within which it is located prevents meddling with it when in position, and it cannot be dropped through or fall out of the window while in use. Any desired pressure of the clean- 4 ing pad on the window may be obtained by adjustment of the clamp on the window sash.

As will be evident to those skilled in the art, my invention permits various modications without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A cleaning device for a window of the sliding upper and lower sash, type comprising a holder xfor a cleaning pad, the holder and pad being adapted to be inserted through the space between the upper portion of the lower sash and the lower rail of the upper sash with the pad sash when the lower sash is partially raised, a clamping member mounted on the back of said pad holder for engagement with the top side of the lower rail of the upper sash when the holder 1 and pad are thus positioned, and a cooperating clamping member adapted to be turned to a position. to clear the lower rail ofthe upper sash when-v the holder and pad are 4being movedl into said position, and then to be turned to project be'- neath the lower rail of the upper sash and to be raised to` engage the underside of said lower rail to cooperate with the first-mentionedY clamping member to hold said holder and pad in said position, a support on the lower portion of which said holder is mounted, and means comprising devi-ces mounted on said support and manually operable from points spaced a distance above the holder for thus operating said second-mentioned clamping member.

2. A cleaning device for a window of the sliding upper and lower sash type, comprising Ya holder fora cleaning pad, the holder and pad being adapted'to be inserted through the space between the upper portion of the lower sash and the lower rail of the upper sash with the pad engaging the outer side of the pane of the lower sash when the lower sash is partially raised, clampingv mem-bers mounted on the back of said holder adapted to be relatively moved to engage the upper and lower sides of the lower rail of the upper sash to hold said holder. and pad in saidI position, a support on the lower portion of which said holder is mounted, and means comprising devices mounted on said support and manually operable from points spaced a distance above the holder for thus relatively movingrs'aid clamping members.

3. A cleaning device for a windowl of the slid-v ing upper and lower sash type comprising a holder for a cleaning pad, the holder and pad being adapted tov be inserted through the space between the upper portion of the lower sash and the lower rail of the upper sash with the pad engaging the outer side of the pane of the lower sash when the lower sash is partially raisedl'and a cooperating clamping member Vadapted to be retracted to clear thelower rail of the upper sash when the holder and pad are being moved into said position and then to be projected beneath the first-mentioned clamping member and moved upwardly to engage the underside of the lower rail, a support on the lower portion of which said holder is mounted, and means comprising` devices mounted on said support and manually operable from `points spaced a distance above the holder for thus operating said second-mentioned clamping member.

` 4. A cleaning device for a window of the sliding upper and lower sash type comprising a holder for a cleaning pad, the holder and pad being adapted to be inserted through the space between the upper portion of the lower sash and the lower rail of the upper sash with the pad engaging the outer side of the pane of the lower sash when the lower sash Ais partially raised, upper and lower clamping members 'f or clamping engagement with the top and bottom sides of the lower rail of the upper sash when the holder and pad are thus positioned, the lower clamping member comprising a rod vertically arranged having a laterally projecting lower end for clamping engagement with the bottom side of said lower rail, a guide in which said rod is mounted for vertical movement, said guide and rod having co-engaging parts whereby during downward and upward movements the rod is turned to retract and project said lateral projecting end thereof respectively, a cross-bar connected with the upper end of said rod for thus moving said rod vertically. a spring pressing the cross-bar upwardly, and means comprising a lever operable from a point a distance above the pad holder for engaging the cross-bar to move it downwardly against the tension of its spring.

5. A cleaning device for a window of the sliding upper and lower sash type comprising a holder for a cleaning pad, the holder and pad being adapted to be inserted through the space between the upper portion of the lower sash and the lower rail of the upper sash with the pad lengaging the outer side of the pane of the lower sash when the lower sash is partially raised, upper and lower clamping members mounted on the back of said pad holder for respectively. engaging the top and bottom sides of the lower rail 'of the upper sash when the holder and pad are thus positioned, and devices for moving the lower clamping member downwardly and for retracting it so as to clear the lower rail of the upper sash when the holder and pad are being moved into said position, and for projecting the lower clamping member after it passes beneath said rail and raising it into clamping engagement with the underside of said rail to cooperate with the first- -mentioned clamping member to hold said holder and pad in said position, including releasable means operable a distance above the pad holder for positively holding said clamping members in clamping engagement with said lower rail.

6. A cleaning device for a window of the sliding upper and lower sash type comprising a holder for a cleaning pad, a clamping member mounted on the back -of the holder having a rearwardly projecting ilange for engagement with the top side of the lower rail of the upper sash with the cleaning pad positioned against the outer side of the pane of the lower sash, a crossbar arranged above said clamping member, means for guiding said cross-bar for vertical movement, means for yieldingly pressing the cross-bar upwardly, vertically extending rods having their upper ends rotatably secured to the cross-bar, guides mounted on the .back of the holder having guiding apertures through which the lower portions of said rods extend, said rods having laterally projecting clamping members formed on their lower ends, said rods and the walls of said guiding apertures being shaped so that upon said cross-:bar being moved downwardly the rods are turned in a direction to retract said clamping members thereon from beneath said first-mentioned clamping member, and upon being moved upwardly the rods are turned to project theA clamping members thereon into position beneath said first-mentioned clampingl member and to cause thev clamping members on the rods to engage the underside of the lower rail of the upper sash to cooperate with the rst-mentioned clamping member to clamp said lower railbetween them, a vertically extending frame member having its lower end secured to the rs't-mentioned clamping member, a U-shaped frame having its ends secured to said cross-bar, the upper portion REFERENCES CITEDl The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED 'STATES PATENTS Number Name l Date 1,120,094 Shipley 'Dec. 8, 1914 1,140,001? Rungev -May 18, 1915 1,629,201 Christeler May 17, 1927 2,249,360 Illman July 15, 1941 2,387,926 Miller Oct. 30, 1945 2,432,693 Anderson Dec. 16, 1947 

